Rashaan Harvey Nall (born February 25, 1980) is an American writer, director, screenwriter and actor of stage and screen.

Early life

Rashaan Nall was born in the Greater

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

, California and raised in

Altadena Altadena () ("Alta", Spanish for "Upper", and "dena" from Pasadena) is an unincorporated area and census-designated place in the Verdugo Mountains region of Los Angeles County, California, approximately 14 miles (23 km) from the downtown ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

Nall attended

South Pasadena High School South Pasadena High School (SPHS or "South Pas") is the one public high school serving grades 9-12 in the city of South Pasadena, California. With the South Pasadena Middle School and three elementary schools (Arroyo Vista, Marengo, and Monterey ...

wherein he played starting Tailback for the football team. Rashaan later attended

John Muir High School John Muir High School is a four-year comprehensive secondary school in Pasadena, California, United States and is a part of the Pasadena Unified School District. The school is named after preservationist John Muir. History In 1926 the Pasadena ...

in Altadena, California and was subsequently accepted into

Los Angeles County High School for the Arts Los Angeles County High School for the Arts (LACHSA, ) is a visual and performing arts high school located on the campus of California State University, Los Angeles (Cal State LA) in Los Angeles, California, United States. History The school was ...

. After graduating, Rashaan attended

California State University at Northridge California State University, Northridge (CSUN or Cal State Northridge) is a public university in the Northridge, Los Angeles, Northridge neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. With a total enrollment of 38,551 students (as of Fall 2021), it h ...

while continuing to pursue his dream in entertainment.

Career

Acting

Nall made his professional debut as a Voiceover artist on the Animated series Captain Planet as well as Television commercials such as McDonald's, Jenga and Toyota to name a few. Nall later landed a Regular role as Jared Moore on the Paramount television series Social Studies, a show centered on the students of a wayward upper crust boarding school. Rashaan also recurred on the

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

hit series Hangin' with Mr. Cooper,

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

's Mr. Rhodes,

The Bernie Mac Show ''The Bernie Mac Show'' (often shortened to ''Bernie Mac'' in syndication) is an American sitcom television series created by Larry Wilmore, that aired on Fox for five seasons from November 14, 2001 to April 14, 2006. The series featured Bernie ...

and

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

mystery drama Cracker. He appears in Feature films such as HBO's Tyson and Dancing in September as well as

The Walt Disney Company The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Disney Stud ...

Feature film principal. As well as Fakin' the Funk, Tin Soldier and many others while continuing to Guest Star on shows like

Touched by an Angel ''Touched by an Angel'' is an American fantasy drama television series that premiered on CBS on September 21, 1994, and ran for 211 episodes over nine seasons until its conclusion on April 27, 2003. Created by John Masius and executive produced ...

, Sister, Sister and

Without a Trace ''Without a Trace'' is an American police procedural drama television series created by Hank Steinberg that aired on CBS from September 26, 2002 to May 19, 2009 with the total of seven seasons and 160 episodes. The series focuses the cases of ...

. Nall additionally Guest starred in Emmy nominated series’ Standoff and Blind Justice along with Emmy winning series’ such as NYPD Blue, and ER. Rashaan etched his own brand of edgy comedy in memorable roles as Stray Bullet in the 5th installment of the Leprechaun franchise,

Leprechaun in the Hood ''Leprechaun in the Hood'' (also known as ''Leprechaun 5'' or ''Leprechaun 5: In the Hood'') is a 2000 American black comedy slasher film directed by Rob Spera and the fifth installment in the ''Leprechaun'' series. The film follows Warwick Davis ...

. Nall played the unassuming anti-hero Floyd in

Snipes Snipes may refer to: * Snipe, a wading bird * Snipes (surname) * ''Snipes'' (film), a 2001 film * ''Snipes'' (video game), a 1983 text-mode networked computer game * Snipes Mountain AVA Snipes Mountain AVA is an American Viticultural Area l ...

and as hard bodied Ronald in Star studded movie classic

The Wash The Wash is a rectangular bay and multiple estuary at the north-west corner of East Anglia on the East coast of England, where Norfolk meets Lincolnshire and both border the North Sea. One of Britain's broadest estuaries, it is fed by the riv ...

. Nall credits his experience on The Wash that inspired his love for Stand-up comedy. Rashaan avoided being typecast and earned a reputation for intensive study character work, on the Emmy award-winning series

The Shield ''The Shield'' is an American crime drama television series starring Michael Chiklis that premiered on March 12, 2002, on FX in the United States, and concluded on November 25, 2008, after seven seasons. Known for its portrayal of corrupt pol ...

and the VH1 Feature film drama Play'd: A Hip Hop Story Starring opposite

Toni Braxton Toni Michele Braxton (born October 7, 1967) is an American R&B singer, songwriter, actress and television personality. She has sold over 70 million records worldwide and is one of the best-selling female artists in history. Braxton has won ...

. Nall made another comedic departure and landed the recurring role of Walt Powell a barber/stand-up comedian on CW hit One on One and a regular on its spinoff series Cuts. Nall then landed a Recurring role as Daryl on the critically acclaimed IFC series "

The Minor Accomplishments of Jackie Woodman ''The Minor Accomplishments of Jackie Woodman'' is an American comedy television series from World of Wonder Productions, co-written, executive produced by and starring Laura Kightlinger. The series premiered on IFC August 4, 2006. Season two be ...

". Rashaan took another dramatic turn as Cloudy in “ Spoken Words” with writer/director of Oscar winning film Ulee's Gold, Victor Nuñez. After groundbreaking years in the profession as one of Hollywood's most unique ensemble actors Nall continues his personal dedication to entertaining and engaging audiences across the world through laughter and healing. Rashaan Nall never ceases to push the envelope as an artist and continues to grow and mature in this challenging and rewarding business.

Writing

Rashaan is one of the original poets of Los Angeles' "The Poetry Lounge". His screenplay, The Pyn, was a screenwriting finalist for HBO sponsored Urbanworld film festival in 2007. Nall also penned both screenplays Menage' Noir and Jesus Lovin' Buddhist, for which he wrote, produced, directed, and edited.

Directing

Nall's first directorial work was theatrical re-telling of

Sam Shepard Samuel Shepard Rogers III (November 5, 1943 – July 27, 2017) was an American actor, playwright, author, screenwriter, and director whose career spanned half a century. He won 10 Obie Awards for writing and directing, the most by any write ...

's first act of

Geography of a Horse Dreamer ''Geography of a Horse Dreamer'' is a play by Sam Shepard. Production history ''Geography of a Horse Dreamer'' was first performed at the Theatre Upstairs in London, on 21 February 1974. The cast was as follows: *Cody – Stephen Rea *Beaujo � ...

at Los Angeles's State playhouse. Nall also directed Spaghetti Western satire "Jesus Lovin Buddhist", and the music video "Grrr" for Hip hop Artist Philly Swain under the pseudonym Ra Cinematic.

Editing

Nall first began editing by sneaking into the editing bay of

Otis College of Art and Design Otis College of Art and Design is a private art and design school in Los Angeles, California. Established in 1918, it was the city's first independent professional school of art. The main campus is located in the former IBM Aerospace headquarte ...

with a roommate and Otis student. Nall's first official short was entitled film Menage' Noir starring Crank: High Voltage's Julanne Chidi Hill and Amour Infinity's Jamie Burton Oare. Rashaan edited his rethinking of a spaghetti western "Jesus Lovin Buddhist" a satirical film exploring religion and race in a small town bar. The film stars Dominic Bogart, Blake Robbins and Julanne Chidi Hill. In December 2011, Rashaan also edited on special production projects for fashion maven

Christian Audigier Christian Audigier (; 21 May 1958 – 9 July 2015) was a French fashion designer known for the Ed Hardy and Von Dutch clothing lines. Early life Christian Audigier was born on 21 May 1958 in Avignon, France. Career Audigier began working in ...

Personal life

He currently resides in Rochester, NY

Spirituality

Rashaan is from a

Christian Baptist The ''Christian Baptist'', established in 1823 by Alexander Campbell, was the first magazine associated with the early Restoration Movement.Douglas Allen Foster and Anthony L. Dunnavant, ''The Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement: Christia ...

background and practices Kundalini yoga and Vipassana meditation.

Charity

Rashaan volunteered as an assistant teacher at Marvin Avenue Elementary School with the nonprofit organization Equal Opportunity Productions (EqOp), an arts organization. Rashaan also served a three-year stint as assistant teacher at Faith acting studios and assistant teacher at All About Kids Acting conservatory.

Filmography

*''

Spoken Word Spoken word refers to an oral poetic performance art that is based mainly on the poem as well as the performer's aesthetic qualities. It is a late 20th century continuation of an ancient oral artistic tradition that focuses on the aesthetics of ...

'' (2009) ... Cloudy *''

'' (2007) ... Evan Bingham *'' Standoff'' (2006) ... Jesse Roberts *''

'' (2006) ... Darryl *'' Cuts'' (2005–2006) ... Walt Powell *'' Blind Justice'' (2005) ... Titus Oliver *'' One on One'' (2002–2004) ... Walt Powell *''

'' (2004) ... Tobar *'' Play'd: A Hip Hop Story'' (2002) ... Jaxx *''The Wash'' (2001) ... Ronald *''Devil's Prey'' (2001) ... Joe *''Snipes'' (2001) ... Floyd *'' Nash Bridges'' (2001) ... Rafael Watson *'' Something to Sing About'' (2000) ... G Smooth *''

'' (2000) ... Stray Bullet *'' 3 Strikes'' (2000) ... T-Bird *''

Dancing in September ''Dancing in September'' is an American romantic comedy-drama television film written and directed by Reggie Rock Bythewood (in his directorial debut), who also produced with Reuben Cannon and Don Kurt. It stars Nicole Ari Parker and Isaiah Was ...

'' (2000) ... Bad Actor *''Inferno'' (1998) ... Lewis *'' NYPD Blue'' (1998) ... Donny *'' Cracker'' (1998) ... Darin Watlington *''

Principal Takes a Holiday ''Principal Takes a Holiday'' is an American television film that aired on ABC's ''The Wonderful World of Disney'' anthology series. The film premiered on January 4, 1998 and stars Kevin Nealon, Zachery Ty Bryan and Jessica Steen. It was directed ...

'' (1998) ... Peter Heath (as Rashaan H. Nall) *'' Sister, Sister'' (1997) ... Lil Dawg *''

'' (1997) ... Lightning *'' Social Studies'' (1997) ... Jared Moore *'' Fakin' Da Funk'' (1997) ... Perry Lee *'' Mr. Rhodes'' (1996) ... Lucas *'' ER'' (1996) ... Brett *'' Hangin' with Mr. Cooper'' (1995) ... Young Mark *''The Tin Soldier'' (1995) ... Pack Kid *''

The Parent 'Hood ''The Parent 'Hood'' is an American sitcom television series that aired on The WB from January 18, 1995, to July 25, 1999. The series starred Robert Townsend and Suzzanne Douglas. Originally to be titled ''Father Knows Nothing'' (a parody of t ...

'' (1995) ... Kwame *''

Tyson Tyson is a male given name of old French origin meaning 'high-spirited', 'fire'. It is from this that a surname arose 'son of Tyson'. Surname *Alan Tyson (1926–2000), British musicologist * Barbara Tyson (born 1964), Canadian actress * Bill Tys ...

'' (1995) ... Dog

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Nall, Rashaan 1980 births Living people Male actors from California American male film actors American male child actors American male television actors People from Altadena, California 20th-century American male actors 21st-century American male actors African-American male actors 20th-century African-American people 21st-century African-American people